Special Olympics basketball teams from two local high schools, Lynn High School and Whitney Academy, have competed against each other in the Special Spirit basketball game for the past four years — most recently Sunday at Northeastern’s Cabot Center.  Although Lynn has come out on top every time, Sunday’s game was a close competition, the final score at 33-26.

The Special Spirit game gives high school Special Olympics athletes the opportunity to play basketball in a Division I college-level environment. Northeastern athletics, dance and cheer teams, as well as students came to cheer on the competitors Sunday.

Denise Badsen, the coordinator for the Lynn High School Special Olympics program, said coming to the Special Spirit game is like making it to the finals of March Madness for her and her team. She said every year at the first practice, she wonders what she got herself into, but coming to the Special Spirit game always makes it all worth it.

“It’s amazing to watch how hard these kids have worked and to get here and for this to be the celebration of all the hard work they’ve done,” Badsen said. “I encourage people to get involved with Special Olympics. Nothing brings you more joy than watching the hard work pay off for these kids.”

The game consisted of four eight-minute quarters with entertainment after each quarter, including dance performances, a relay race and the crowd-favorite dance competition. There was also a raffle, and all profits were donated evenly between the participating teams. Players received medals and T-shirts after the game provided by the NU Special Olympics Club.

The Special Spirit Game originated at the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 2012, which inspired the University of New Hampshire to start its own game in 2014. Two Northeastern students, now alumni, were motivated to bring the event to NU four years ago. Fourth-year health science majors Kaylie DeCosmo and Jared Jacobson took over the event a year after it started at NU and founded the Northeastern Special Olympics Club.

DeCosmo and Jacobson started planning this year’s game almost a year ago and reached out to almost 100 companies to acquire donations for the raffle. They went through all the logistics of arranging the event, including coordinating with the teams, reserving the event space and advertising to students.

“Seeing the enjoyment on everyone’s face makes it worth it,” Jacobson said. “As long as the athletes are having fun, that’s really what matters.”

The athletes practice weeks in advance for the game and also compete against other Special Olympics teams throughout their season. Alyssa Damato, a senior at Lynn High School, said her favorite part of the game was making a basket. Ty Scott, a senior at Whitney Academy, said his favorite part was playing basketball with his team and helping out his coach.

The Special Olympics club plans to continue the Special Spirit game in years to come. The club meets weekly on campus and also volunteers at local elementary schools.

DeCosmo said every year she gets letters back from the teams saying how much they enjoyed the event.

“They like the crowd. They like coming to Northeastern,” DeCosmo said. “These teams have played against each other for the past four years, so it’s a great competition between them. They like to shine and be the stars for a day, so they love coming out here.”